A significant portion of aircraft final assembly time is spent in joining the wing assembly to the aircraft body. Conventional wing-to-body installation attaches frame stub beams used to splice the outboard wing box to the center wing box as well as to a vertical flange connecting the aircraft body skin to the wing box. The interface to the wing box includes both body stub beams and the wing box stringer details and fasteners. The aircraft body side panel frames are split in two to allow a lower frame segment to deflect relative to the wing to body integration position. This configuration results in added frame weight due to the aircraft body frame splice. Also, the secondary fuel barrier application process contains hazardous fumes, and cannot be fully completed until after this installation is complete. This places an expensive and complex process in the wing to body integration location.
As the foregoing discussion suggests, current methods of joining wings to bodies in aircraft can be both time-consuming and costly, with the added downside that the additional body weight from the numerous fastening systems reduces aircraft performance and fuel efficiency. Accordingly, new methods and systems for joining aircraft wings to bodies that require less time and less structural reinforcement would be desirable. It is with respect to these and other considerations that the disclosure herein is presented.